"Last night, in my dream I heard the warning from
the yesterday, the one that made me think twice about
entering the house. She somehow put it in my head to
leave the house and when I dreamt last night I heard the
words clearly, the words that had forced me to step back.
She said, 'please leave, you can't imagine what they'll
do to you.' 'They'll,' Alex, more then one." He
desperately wished she had told him more, that she had
fed him more then one inadvertent clue. "Alex look
into the cases with Charles, anything where more then one
spirit seemed to be working together."

"Sure, you are coming back here?" She asked
it trying to make it sound casual, but her worry was
always present. She wanted the two of them safe in the
house until they knew what they were up against.

"I want to swing by the house. Maybe she'll try
to warn us off one more time. She might tell us something
more this time." He tried to ignore the emotion he
heard in her voice, not wanting to back down quite yet.

"Derek, please." Alex pleaded.

"We won't get close Alex, I promise. But if this
is how she tells us things then it's the best chance we
have at unlocking the secrets." Derek again tried to
reassure her but knew he wasn't succeeding.

"Just tell mom we'll be home before dark and be
done with it." Nick grinned at Derek who did not
repeat his words to the researcher.

"We'll be fine, Alex. Call if you find anything
else." Derek hung up the phone and handed it over to
Nick. He was surprised to see the younger man's eyes
looking so alive. He just rose his eyebrows with the
unspoken question.

"You know, more I think about it, the better I
start to feel. I mean, why the hell would we lose?"
Nick shot Derek a lopsided smile and for the first time
in over twenty hours Derek felt he was seeing the Nick he
knew so well. The strong willed sarcastic, sensitive
young man. Brooding at times, but he always tried to draw
the focus off that behavior by joking.

"I don't know why we would." Derek answered
back softly, though not feeling as sure.

"C'mon Derek, Alex is making headway finally, and
it's all gonna be over in a matter of hours." Derek
shook to hear Nick's words. 'It's all going to be over.'
He didn't know why the simple statement made him feel
such a heavy foreboding but it seeped down into him.

*****

It was back, the subtle shift in balance, which meant
they were back. She didn't make a move from the bed
though. Why draw extra attention to herself? The man was
angry enough as it was. Her plan had worked, but it had
succeeded too early. She couldn't get out yet but he was
weaker now then he had been in a long time. Exhausted
from the rage he had directed to her. She felt the back
of her head and found the hard knot there. Now he was at
least distracted, concentrating in whatever place they
went, on what he would do to the would be saviors. She
could bring him back if she pushed it though and despite
the fact he was weaker, she knew he was never weak. She
had quite enough pain for one day.

Still, she was too stubborn to be completely docile.
'Let it slide away from you, glide outwards like a thread
caught in the wind. They may not know you're talking to
them but it will reach them. I know you can touch the
living if you just try. Gentle, relaxed, just let it flow
Tangye.' She heard the voice whisper from her memory. How
had she lost their lessons for so long? She remembered
all the languages and practical studies, but the lessons
that would have helped her endure slipped away. Now they
came crashing back down. 'You have a talent, you need to
learn to use it, someday it might save your life little
one.'

The man would feel none of the crashing force from the
day before, that cry had been done without subtlety. This
time she just let the images slip from her mind, making
no sound but still they reached out to him. Drifting into
his mind with less power then a whisper but they would
nag there, hanging on and he would find them there
somehow. She was sure someone that exuded such a sense of
power would find them.

She grinned, pleased with herself. For years the hazes
had been mocking the friends she once had. Pointing out
how powerless they were to help her now. Maybe they were
unable to return to her rescue but the lessons had been
taught. Perhaps they were powerless now, but they already
did their job in all this. They had empowered her. She
turned her eyes to the door, waiting for him to arrive.
He didn't and the house stayed silent. She had done it,
gotten past their defenses without them knowing. She
nearly laughed out loud but instead just whispered 'thank
you' in her head.

*****

"Well that was a wasted trip." Nick did it
to her again and this time he nearly lost control when he
saw her jump. Derek followed him into the control room
looking exhausted from running around in circles all day.
Nick quickly spun one of the chairs around and plopped
down into it backwards.

"Nothing at the house?" Alex forced her
voice to remain calm so not to amuse Nick anymore.

"Not a thing evidently." Nick shot Derek a
quick glance, but only shrugged when he didn't choose to
collaborate. "What about on the home front?"

"Actually, at long last I think we have an
answer." Both Derek and Nick seemed to stiffen
hearing those words from Alex. It was what they had
wanted to hear this whole time. "Charles Gaarlihn,
if it's the same man from the case logs which I can't
find anything that indicates it is, but ," She
quickly added noting the look of disappointment on the
faces of both her companions. "I also can't prove it
isn't. Anyway, Charles, whoever it is, was involved in a
case in the thirties with two spirits. They had been
torturing victims at a local hotel. All indications are
that the attacks were pretty violent and some of the
people were being held hostage in their rooms. When the
Legacy moved in the two spirits got angry, said they
couldn't be defeated separately. The report is that the
female vanished first, before the Legacy even had a
chance to try anything. The man was said to have warned
that 'this would not be the last strike, and they would
pay for their interference, or their blood would.' Then,
poof he was just gone. I checked the database, there
doesn't seem to be any indication that they have ever
reappeared." Alex turned to study Derek's reaction
as she so frequently found herself doing. Was she really
still so needing of his approval? She chastised herself
for it but when she saw him the thought slipped away.

"What part did Charles play?" His voice was
steady; it did not betray the doubt he instinctively felt
over this explanation.

"Like I said it looks like someone tried to wipe
this guy out of the database. They just missed a few
mentions of his name. All I know was he was there when
they went to the hotel, what exactly he did it doesn't
say. The sweep was pretty thorough. No last name, no
indication of age, I can't even really be sure he was a
member of the Legacy." Alex looked back at the
report on the monitor, wondering what Derek saw in it to
cause that expression on his face. The worry, nearly an
anger.

"Maybe he turned on the Legacy and somebody
wanted to forget he ever was in it." Nick suggested
with a shrug, not really thinking this detail too
important.

"No." Derek snapped more harshly then he
intended.

"Derek what is it?" Alex asked, her voice
soothing.

"He did not turn on the Legacy, someone turned on
him." Derek said with a noticeable scowl.

"What's that mean?" Nick asked defensively,
hating it when Derek decided to be cryptic.

"Something else is going on here. Information is
being kept from us for a reason, and in doing so someone
is managing to further the pain of his
great-granddaughter." Derek answered, his voice
still tight with the anger over his suspicions.

"Derek we don't even know that this is Charles
Gaarlihn." Alex reminded him. She found that she was
hoping it would be but didn't want to put too much hope
in such an unlikely possibility.

"I do." Alex stood up and crossed to him,
gently placing one thin hand on his arm.

"Derek, please, go upstairs. Get some sleep.
Tomorrow you two can go in the house, now that we know
what we're dealing with. I'll prepare all the information
I can find for you to read in the morning. You need to
relax, you're too close to this, both of you are."
Nick looked at her out of the corner of his eye, a hint
of annoyance on his face at her words. "Play savior
in the morning."

"Fine, you're probably right." Derek nodded,
not voicing his thoughts that she wasn't. That this
answer was completely wrong somehow. He turned, giving
her a gentle grin of reassurance before leaving .
"You too Nick." Alex sternly commanded. Nick
failed to comment but she didn't miss the way he lingered
over the picture in his hands before dropping it on the
table. As soon as he was gone she went and picked it up.
A pretty young girl, her whole life spread out before
her, so many choices ahead. Laughing over a long lost
moment that none of them shared, but Alex felt herself
smile with the girl anyway. "Okay Ms. Gaarlihn who
are you and what have you done to them, to us?" She
studied the picture another moment. "And more
importantly, what's been done to you?"

*****

"Go to sleep now little one." The woman
pulled the covers up around her shoulders. Tangye jerked
away when the hand reached out to her. She hated the way
the woman was forever trying to do these sorts of things,
trying to make gentle gestures when all they ever brought
was new pain.

'Don't touch me. How many times do I have to damn you
before you understand?' She couldn't have pushed the
words out with more spite and the woman flinched at the
anger.

"Tangye Mauveen don't you dare use that sort of
language." Her face grew stern. Normally she was not
the most threatening but at that moment Tangye clearly
recalled the woman's ability to cause her pain. She was
more subtle then the man, slowly creeping her will over
Tangye's.

"Apologize Tangye." The man's voice boomed.
He appeared again for the first time since the morning
and he had shed none of his anger. His eyes were alight
and his face tight.

'Rot.' She spat at the two apparitions who proved to
have plenty of ability to hurt her, as the knot on the
back of her head testified. She saw his jaw lock, knew
the signs of his fury all to well at this point but she
couldn't keep the words from forming anymore. She'd spent
the day going over all the lessons she had ever been
taught and one kept ringing in her mind, one that forced
her into action rather then logic.

"Young lady you've become more and more difficult
over the years." The man complained. There was so
much that the man seemed to dislike about her.

'You won't leave me alone, you're driving me mad is
that what you want?' She screamed at them. She wished she
could force out the words but she was tired from the day,
the effort would be a waste of what little energy she had
right now. She absently feared that she would never hear
her own voice again. Not that it would matter much if
they had their way, she could communicate with them
without spoken words and they intended to keep her locked
away from the world here for eternity with only them as
her company, as her torturers.

"We only want what's best for you." Her
voice tried to be sweet but there was venom behind it.
Again the woman's hand reached out but she just pushed
herself away from it further knowing she could do nothing
to knock it away.

'Then die already.' She pleaded but her voice held
onto some of the demand and hate.

"Tangye." He snapped, his hand struck her
head where it was already damaged and she cried silently
in pain. "Now sleep, we'll have visitors in the
morning." His voice made it quite clear that she
would get nowhere by arguing.

'I will not allow them to be hurt.' She growled.

His smile turned her blood cold and her heart stopped
for a moment. Why couldn't she control a single emotion
she had? Why couldn't she ever not push so hard? She
grinned as the knowledge came back to her. Her lessons.
"You won't be able to do anything about it, it's
time we made a clear example for the world, so they know
to leave you alone. Now sleep, things will be very
exciting tomorrow." They were gone, still in the
house but they left her the peace of her room.

'At least I can say with certainty you'll go to hell,
that has to be some type of revenge.' She pulled the
sheets up around herself again knowing it would be hours
before she slept. She said a few prayers in her head.
Prayers she was certain were being heard but she couldn't
figure out why they were always ignored. But now she
added prayers for the two men, who might sacrifice their
lives only to help her. She had thought about it all day
though and had finally realized there was only one person
that could help her now.

She had spent the whole day thinking, reviewing
everything about her life. She forced herself for the
first time to face the duration of time since she had
first seen the two hazes, never having realized before
how much of the situation she had made herself forget.
Now every detail mattered but one realization had struck
her hardest, had steeled her to the situation.

Seven years. She was sure of the amount of time that
had passed now. For some time it had all blurred into one
inescapable moment in the haze of her mind. She grinned
slightly at her own choice of terms. 'Haze.' It was the
same word that she used to describe her tormentors
refusing to acknowledge them as the spirits of the bodies
that they inhabited. Even though she knew that was just
what they were.

Seven years lost that she would never be able to
regain, that had been what hurt the most to realize. She
had lived in quiet resignation over the situation during
most of that time. She had tried to make them leave, but
she doubted that she ever believed that she would
succeed. Now she was left wondering from what unexplored
corner the strength had sprung up from. She still had a
good handle on the whole situation though. She knew that
it had to end, and there was only two ways that was going
to happen. She was resigned to either option.

'She's not stable, but I don't believe that she is a
danger to herself.' The diagnosis of one of many doctors
in her life. She was never meant to hear it but she had.
She never told her parents that she knew what the man had
both said and believed about her. He did believe that she
was a danger to herself. She had seen that much in his
head, but how could he tell that to the parents of the
twelve-year-old girl in his waiting room? 'She's strong,
I don't know where it comes from but she is certainly
strong.'

Memories long dead threatened to come crashing down
upon her but she refused them the opportunity. She didn't
even know they were there anymore and wasn't about to
face them now so they stayed locked where she had put
them. They were her well of strength though. The fountain
her will drank from. A small voice in her head reminding
her that if she could live through those horrors she
couldn't recall, she could endure anything. She was
strong indeed and the hazes would be reminded of that
fact.

She shouldn't have survived, a part of her knew that,
but she continued to draw the next breath in defiance
alone of the forces against her. She remembered the
spirits that had been so much a part of her childhood.
Those that spoke to her with gentle kindness, those that
had made her laugh, those that taught her she was a
survivor. 'You, listen to me now.' The man snapped at her
in her memory. 'You're different Tangye, you know that
and I know that. But you are also strong, stubborn, and
Dammit you better not let anyone ever forget that. You
never give in no matter how weak you might feel. You
remember me at those times. Got it kid? You think of me
and I'll help you get through.'

'You better be with me now James, cause I have never
needed you more.' She whispered the words in her mind.
She almost felt him smile at her as he always did when
she was proving to be especially stubborn. 'That's my
girl, you don't take it from nobody kiddo.' The others
had never really liked James, but at this moment it was
his lessons that would serve her best she was just glad
she had finally found them there in the recesses of her
mind. The others wanted her to learn languages, he had
taught her to fight and more importantly, to win. That
was the lesson that mattered most now.

'Listen kiddo, I gotta get going now. But you, you did
me proud. You even showed me a thing or two. There's
gonna be plenty of times when you should concentrate on
their lessons, all their fancy schooling. But there's
gonna be more times when it's the stuff I told you is
gonna be it. Latin won't save your life. Your strength of
will can. So listen, one last lesson, when it's all down,
when you are sure you've lost, focus. Remember your
anger, it sounds awful, but it's in you and you can use
it. Take it and stand up with it and nobody can knock you
down.'

Seven years lost, just gone. Though she had known
anger at the two hazes for years now it had always been
held in check by her fear of them. She let herself
believe their words when they said no one was more
powerful then they were. Now she did as James said. Let
the pain slip away, the mourning. All of it until the
only thing left was her anger over what had been done to
her. For the first time in too many years she started to
feel like that stubborn thirteen-year-old that James had
taught. The girl who was not about to admit defeat.

*****

Nick slept soundly, a smile playing at the corners of
his mouth. They were in the mountains, there was a soft
white blanket covering the ground. She still said nothing
to him, and he just stared at her. Watching as she looked
around, took in all of the sights of this quiet little
spot. Studied her as her face lit up with a smile of
wonderment. He saw each breath that escaped her mouth and
created a brief cloud in front of her. Her hair caught in
the wind blew up behind her, wild and free, whipped into
her eyes. She brushed it away absently wanting nothing to
obstruct her view of this place.

Finally after he had been studying her for what felt
like hours she turned to him. Her face was alive with
pleasure. Her smile spread into him infectiously. A
dimple sprung up on one of her round cheeks. Her eyes
glinted in the sunlight, but what color were they? Her
face suddenly grew serious for a moment and she mouthed
the words 'thank you' to him. The smile that followed was
more solemn but still filled with joy over the place he
had brought her. She turned away from him with a slight
bow of her head. He watched as her hand moved, her pinky
finger finding it's way into her mouth, she bit down on
the last joint. Her eyes wandered over the horizon and
that pleased smile returned to her profile.

Nick knew she was happy here, happy here because he
was with her and nothing could have felt better to him as
he slept. Her occasional quick glances fighting away the
demons that usually haunted his slumber. She won his
battle for him, or would. But first he had to help her
with her own fight.

*****

Derek's sleep was fitful down the hall. He envisioned
her being torn from the window, saw the shadow that was
more then a shadow again. The stains. He saw the stains
that her blood had left on the shutters. 'I can do it.'
The voice was suddenly there but had no one present to be
speaking. It was low in register, just short of husky.
'It took me a long time to realize it but I can. You have
to be careful. I can't risk naming them. But I can defeat
them. I might need a little help though. Just be careful.
They know you're coming, they want you to. You're to be
their lesson to the world.' Her voice was full of the
same warning that had been there the night before but it
seemed stronger suddenly.

"Derek, listen to her carefully." Derek
jerked in his sleep at the sound of a man's voice. He
turned to find a man in sixties, dressed nicely in a suit
that Derek was sure he recognized from being an American
style around 1953. "And never go for the simple
answer. Her life has always been complicated and it has
always been her own. This is being done to her, not her
ancestors." He spoke calmly.

"Charles." Derek heard himself whisper. The
man merely grinned without commitment of an answer. His
hair was gray, a bit longer then was probably the style.
His face was well lined but still strong as his body
seemed to be.

"She's strong Derek, but sometimes she forgets
the little things." The man went on with the message
he had been trying to deliver for years. Up until now
though he had been unable to find a bridge, but the young
woman had created it without knowing by opening the
connection between herself and the precept.

"I don't know how to help her." Derek said
weakly, his voice full of the disappointment and failure
he had been feeling all day.

"You don't have to. She's already been taught
what she needs to know, remember there was a guardian
angel in her life she once believed in. She was bound to
be alone someday and she was prepared for it very early.
But she forgets things." He repeated making Derek
sure that somehow the answer was held in that simple
statement the man seemed desperate to communicate.

"What do you mean by that?" Derek felt
desperate, wishing for a straight answer.

"Think of what you've learned about her. Think of
the descriptions you've been given." Derek shook his
head, understanding still alluding him. "It will
come to you. She's yours now, someday she will need you
to fight for her, tomorrow is not that day." He
seemed sad to be letting her go.

Derek dawned suddenly on something. "You did
this. Sent the message somehow?"

"Things have gotten desperate and what good is a
guardian angel if he doesn't guard?" The man
answered back lightly a brief smile playing on his lips.

"But you waited so long." Derek felt some of
the annoyance he had found in himself at Janet Albertson
begin to swell again. Why had those who claimed to love
her failed to do anything for so long?

The man's return was muted with his own regrets.
"I could do nothing. The power in the house has
built a fortress I couldn't get through. It can only be
destroyed from the inside now."

"If that's true " The man before him
shook his head.

"No more questions, she can do it and she needs
only one thing from you to succeed. Enjoy her, I always
have." Derek sat up in bed suddenly and the dream
quickly faded from his mind until all he could remember
was that she needed something from him to end her torment
on her own. But what did he have to give her? What was it
that he knew about her that held the answer?

*****

Alex sat in silence in the control room refusing to
give up the search until she found some concrete answers.
She wasn't convinced that the two spirits from the hotel
were those that were now keeping the young woman locked
in her house but for now it was her only lead. Still
something about the answer she wanted to believe just
didn't feel right.

She tapped on the computer keys and the image changed
to the picture that Nick had up the night before. Alex
sat back slightly in her chair and stared up at the
image. Since joining the Legacy she had been witness to
too much needless suffering and it always had the same
effect on her. She tried so hard to remain objective but
too often her more honest instincts got the best of her.
Alex Moreau was a sensitive woman even without her unique
Sight. She felt others pain and strove to do whatever she
could to relieve it. Simply learning about the existence
of Tangye Mauveen Gaarlihn had brought forth that
reaction in her.

But it was more then that too. She felt a bond with
the young woman ever since reading the journals that
Rachel had taken from Dr. Berton. She recalled her own
isolation when she was young brought on by her Sight. The
loneliness it had always caused her to know that she was
different. She had never really been alone though, she
had the support of her Grandmother all along. Grandma
Rose had always known when Alex was feeling the worst
about her gifts and had the right words to ease her
discomfort. She was a woman with natural insight.

"Okay Ms. Gaarlihn I need some answers. We're all
listening now you just have to tell us something."
Alex leaned forward in her seat studying the picture.
"How'd you do it?" The phone rang beside her
suddenly and she quickly grabbed it not wanting it to
wake any of the others in the house. "Luna
Foundation." She answered.

"My darlin' you are up good." Alex smiled
hearing her grandmother's voice on the other end.
Definitely a woman with insight, Alex had planned to call
her in the morning at a more reasonable hour. "I had
a dream I need to tell you about."

"Grandma Rose, I was planning to call you. I had
something I needed to ask you." Alex realized she
had placed a lot of hope for the answer to the question
plaguing her in the woman thousands of miles away.

"Den ask it chil'." Her soft accented voice
prodded.

"We're working on a case, and it's seemed to
obsess us all " Alex began not sure how to
explain.

"I know all about dat. You're blamin' the wrong
one. The chil' didn' cause this reaction in you. Someone
else is doin' it." Her grandmother answered calmly.
"I saw a man in my dream, he's a good man don' you
worry about dat. He wants what's best for the little one.
He jus' can't do it all alone, he needed your help and is
pushing a little too hard to get it." Alex
understood what the woman was saying. Whoever this man
was he was somehow manipulating their emotions so they
would feel urgency not necessarily their own, hoping it
might force them into action. She just didn't have the
answers as to who would cause such a thing to happen to
them. Who was it that had taken such an interest in the
girl? What was he trying to fight so desperately?

"Then you know what's going on up here?"
Alex was surprised.

"Not everythin' but enough. You must help the
little one so she can help you." The older woman
answered cryptically.

"Why would he reach out to you?" Alex asked,
confused why her grandmother would become involved.

"He didn' I just saw him. He's fightin' hard and
causing a disturbance, but my chil' he's not winnin'. He
needs all of you to do the rest so she can do her part.
And Alexandra, just a reminder but you know better then
to take the easy way out." Alex laughed at the
admonishment in the woman's voice. "You don' have to
have the answers, just the heart this time. Tha's all the
little one needs."

"Well that's good, because right now I think we
have plenty of that." She smiled, her eyes returning
up to the picture on the screen.

*****

She slid back in the rowing machine chair, her breath
coming in labored gasps. She had meant to only do half
her regiment this morning to conserve her strength. Now
she just exceeded it. In fact she hadn't even planned to
come in here but the nervous energy had finally gotten
the best of her. Sweat streamed down into her eyes but
she felt good, empowered. She wondered absently how long
they would let that last. Surely they sensed something
about her new attitude, even if she weren't flaunting it
so openly they would have felt it.

She felt him arrive before he was even in the room for
her to see, and a part of her relaxed. At least now she
knew where he was and he couldn't jump out of a dark
corner and take her by surprise. Yet the rage just
resurfaced unbidden.

'You said you'd never come in here.' Her voice was
clear in his head, not still deeply breathing in ragged
breaths as her form was.

"After the way you behaved yesterday you're lucky
you can come in here." He snapped back. "Now
you should get dressed, our visitors should be along
shortly." His scowl was pure venom; he was loving
every second of the pain he caused so thoughtlessly. Her
jaw clamped down, her breathing still heavy; her eyes
alight with fire.

"No matter." He shrugged and then vanished.
A bit of the old fear started to creep back over her and
slip hazardously into her mind. He didn't at all fear
possible defeat; he was convinced he had nothing to
concern himself with in the situation that was
developing. She had to give a little credence to that
herself. What could she possibly hope to do after this
long? He had defeated her time and time again. Left her
beaten both in body and mind on countless occasions. Now
suddenly she thought she could do something to stop this?
She was wrong, terribly wrong.

Slowly she got up from the rowing machine brushing her
damp hair out of her eyes. She gave one last look around
the room, a part of her acknowledging that no matter what
happened she would not look at this place again. She
desperately tried to focus on the anger that had kept her
going through the night so well but it seemed weak
suddenly. Tired and old. It just wouldn't be enough. She
moved through the house, going through the motions but
not really acknowledging what she was doing.

Finally she sat in her bed, wrapped tightly in her
robe after the shower, staring straight ahead. Where had
the rage gone? How did it vanish so quickly? She suddenly
felt sick to her stomach and very tired. She couldn't
risk sleep though; she had to be ready when the men
arrived. "Tangye put this on, it's so flattering on
you." She furrowed her brow at the woman as she laid
out the dark burgundy, waist length sweater. "I
assume you'll insist on wearing jeans." The woman
happily went back into the closet to gather the rest of
an outfit. "You're very pretty, and pretty girls
shouldn't worry the way you do, he'll handle
everything." Her voice was so light, airy and the
young woman began to make sense of things but her mind
seemed to be in a battle of realization and denial.

*****

Derek had no idea how to explain himself so he chose
not to. He decided instead to just trust in both Tangye's
words and those of her great-grandfather, if that was who
he was. Nick and Alex planned as though they were going
up against the spirits from that hotel so long ago. He
knew their names had been said but he wasn't really
listening. He cursed quietly to himself as the
frustration took over. If only the dream hadn't been so
cryptic. But Charles seemed intent on evading direct
answers. Why? If he would tell Derek what he needed to do
then of course he would do it.

'I can't risk naming them,' Her voice returned to him.
It dawned on Derek suddenly. Not only could she not risk
it, Charles couldn't. Whatever powers these spirits or as
Derek was beginning to believe them to be, demons, held
it had to be immense. Both his visitors had been afraid
to utter their names or draw too much attention to
themselves for fear of the repercussions.

"You ready boss?" Nick patted him on the
shoulder jerking him out of his revelry. They had left
the equipment in the car from the night before though
both seemed to doubt it would do any good Alex said it
made her feel better. She was still trying to get them to
show some caution but she also seemed to feel much better
since she believed they finally knew what they were up
against. But her eyes had not entirely lost their anxious
concern. Nick had tried lightening the mood a few times
over breakfast by teasing her but was only met with her
exasperated sighs or threatening glances.

Derek glanced at Nick again, seeming to notice for the
first time what a good mood he was in. The brooding from
the day before was completely over. His eyes were lit up
and smiles came quickly as he joked with Alex. Derek
wondered for a moment what had gotten into him in the
last few hours but decided to not pursue the issue.

"Yes. Alex I need you to call Rachel, get her
over here today. We have no idea what state Tangye will
be in and she might be a big help. Have Dominick set up a
room for her, something comfortable, use your discretion.
I'll call as soon as we have her, or if something
develops. You might also want to give Philip a
call," Derek saw the flare up build in Nick,
"just in case."

Derek was surprised when Nick didn't argue though he
made his opinion known when he stalked out of the control
room. Derek suddenly wondered if he shouldn't have taken
Alex aside and mentioned the priest. He just wanted
Philip to know what was going on, in case anything
happened. Instead he had managed to snatch away Nick's
good mood with a single name.

"Don't worry about him, he'll pout about Philip
for a little while then just drop it when he realizes yet
again no one is going to listen to him bad mouth
Philip." Alex smiled. She wanted so bad to pull him
to her, to hold him. Instead she turned her head away
catching a glimpse of the photo out of the corner of her
eye. The girl's face smiled up at her and in some odd way
reassured her that it was all going to be fine. She
patted Derek's arm. "Call the minute you need
anything." Derek nodded then left her alone in the
control room hugging herself to fight off the ache she
felt to watch him leave.

She had taken some small comfort in her grandmother's
call and the reassurance the woman tried to communicate
that everything would be fine. She hadn't dropped the
notion that it was the spirits of the hotel for her
friends even though she was sure now it wasn't. At least
that gave them something to fight, something horrible to
go up against. She also was certain that neither Nick or
Derek believed in that answer but were prepared to press
forward anyway. They were leading with their hearts just
as Rose had said they needed to and she had to pray that
was enough.

*****

Derek got out to the car and found Nick sitting in the
driver's seat. Derek climbed in sighing deeply to himself
as preparation for what was coming. "You know
eventually you're just going to have to accept it. He
left the Legacy Derek, yeah he pops up from time to time
but he isn't one of us anymore. He doesn't even want to
be." Nick's voice was filled with the same anger he
had been holding onto for so long.

"Nick I know it bothers you that he
leaves " Derek attempted to calm his volatile
associate.

"No, it bothers me that every damn time he does
it you let him back in. That's not how it's supposed to
be Derek. He needs to pick one way or the other."
Nick slammed the gas pedal to the floor causing the car
to lurch violently forward. "Don't you get it? He's
never gonna come back here, not for good. He might play
around at it for a week or two but then he's gone again.
He makes us think we can depend on him and then he's just
gone. We're a team Derek, we back each other up, to do
that we need to be able to count on the others being
there." Nick fought to control his anger but it
didn't work. Derek hated to see Nick this way, knowing he
was only angry with Philip because he couldn't deal with
the disappointment that his friend had left him.

"I just want him to be aware of the situation,
just as a precaution." Derek fought to keep his
voice even. He didn't want to try and have to explain
this whole thing over again but always felt the urge to
try to intervene on the behalf of their relationship. He
just couldn't forget the memories of them once so close.

"What in case we need some holy water?" Nick
bit the words off and then silence fell. Pursuing this
issue always ended in the same argument. Nick was hurt
that Philip left the house. Not for any of the reasons he
so frequently claimed but just because he left. Years ago
they had been close, different as they possibly could be
they forged a friendship. When Philip had decided to
leave the Legacy back to the church the rest of the house
had stood by and watched that bond crumble. Nick let
scant few people into his life and when Philip decided to
walk back out it had crushed Nick. And Nick Boyle wasn't
quick to forgive even an imagined betrayal.

Derek was sure he couldn't stand the silence anymore
by the time they finally pulled up in front of the
Gaarlihn home. Nick had been fidgeting in his seat,
tapping at the steering, uncomfortable to have to linger
after a fight with his precept. Usually he got to go off
somewhere and cool down, now he just had to sit and hope
Derek didn't pursue the issue. He shifted his jaw back
and forth, waiting for Derek to draw the breath that
would mean he was about to speak.

"You ready?" Nick finally decided to just
get it over with.

"Yes, and Nick " Nick waved off
whatever he was about to say. Derek took one more deep
breath reflecting that this was the last thing he needed
right now. Nick turned to Derek as he got out of the car,
then looked over at the house. For the first time he
seemed leery of just throwing himself into the situation.
"Are you ready? Maybe I should "

"No, I have to go in there." Nick answered a
little too quickly.

"Nick you don't have to do this if you don't feel
up to it." Derek began to wonder just what it was
that was bringing this odd reaction out of his friend.
His mind dancing around the obvious answer.

"You don't get it Derek." Nick turned to
face him full on, and Derek read the certainty there.
"That's her home. It's supposed to be a place of
warmth, a safe haven from a cruel world. I know what its
like to have that illusion shattered." Nick turned
away not wanting his friend to see the pain that found
it's way too close to the surface. Derek had hoped Nick
had not associated himself with Tangye's plight. But of
course he did, he had spent his childhood a prisoner to
his father's rage and drunken beatings. He had spent too
many years being reminded that he was nothing, too long
afraid to not make the connection or to ever forget. A
part of the young man beside him would always be a little
boy so maliciously robbed of his hope that no one even
knew needed help. Despite the slight reconciliation that
Robert had made with his son by reaching out to him after
death Nick was still unable to forget the pain he
endured.

Again Derek silently berated himself for missing the
signs that had been in front of him so long. He could
never give Nick back those years but if Nick saw Tangye
Gaarlihn as a chance to save someone in the way he had
never been saved, maybe it could be a chance at
redemption for Derek.

"Then lets go remedy that problem." His
voice did not waiver.

*****

She sat on the stairs, staring intently at the front
door, waiting anxiously for the arrival.

She could hear them behind her; they were also waiting
with a different sense of anticipation. He was excited,
thinking he would be able to ensure that no one else
would disturb them after this day. The woman was cleaning
which had infuriated Tangye. They weren't expecting
guests, he was trapping victims. She hadn't even
attempted to repress her anger and her explosion at the
woman that morning had enraged the man. He demanded that
she respect the woman but she didn't find it in herself
to pretend to do so anymore. Again the depth of her hate
shocked her, and for a moment it had seemed enough to
defeat them.

She gently rubbed the side of her face, another
reminder of her place in all of this. The woman had gone
into hysterics when he had tossed her across the room.
Not over her injury but the broken vase she had caused
when she had hit the table.

She gritted her teeth, concentrating all her energy at
keeping them out of her head. She just couldn't hold onto
her anger and in the back of her mind she knew it was the
woman's doing. Somehow she was forcing her into a numb
submission. She had sensed the power Tangye had held with
her anger and had somehow pried her away from it. Knowing
that had forced Tangye into many decisions and neither of
them needed to be alerted to that so instead she
concentrated at keeping them out. She now knew there was
only one way to stop them and hard as it was she would
willing to face that if only to end this.

She heard the car doors slam outside.

"Finally." The man's voice whispered behind
her, his glee sent shivers up her spine.

*****

Janet watched in awe as the two men approached the
house with such purpose in their strides. Nothing was
about to deter them. The younger man held up his hand and
wandered off around the back of the house. It wasn't more
then two minutes later that he came back, nodding, a
self-satisfied expression on his face. Janet realized
that he must have disabled the alarm system. She wondered
to herself if they would have any success. It had been so
long since hope had permeated her heart for her godchild.
She wasn't sure if it was worth the heartache to allow
that to spring up only to have it dashed again.

*****

"We're all set. I called the police from the
island, let them know we'd be going in so they won't
bother investigating a breaking and entering here."
Nick turned to Derek as they walked up the stone path.
His mentor merely nodded focusing all his attention on
the house before him. They emptiness and pain had struck
him again once he had seen it but he had to fight that
off. He forced himself to ignore the nagging memory of
the sound of her voice warning him to leave and just
press on towards the front door.

The first day they had left because of the warning she
had somehow sent crashing into his mind. The second it
had been the sight of her being viciously yanked away
from the window and the fear of the recriminations it
would cause to enter. Today nothing was going to stop
them.

He still didn't think they had any idea what they were
going up against, despite Alex's seeming conviction about
the two spirits from the hotel's involvement. He knew
that not being sure should make them pause but he just
couldn't do it. He had seen her face in the window for
only a moment and had been surprised not to see fear
there, it was a horrified concern written on it. She was
worried about them not herself. In Derek's mind it was
time to focus on her and not themselves.

"We have to be careful. All we really know is
that the spirits in there are dangerous, we can't afford
to be foolish." Nick didn't mention the fact that
the going in itself was probably foolish. It wouldn't
have stopped Derek and knowing that sure as hell wasn't
going to stop him, so why bother pointing it out? Two
nights he had spent dreaming of her and throughout those
days he hadn't been able to shake the image of her. Of
the face that said without words that she understood. He
had to rescue her, there was no option left and nothing
was going to prevent him from doing so.

"Of course." Nick pulled out his gun, making
sure there was a bullet in the chamber. Ready in his head
to face anything. Derek realized he was concerned by
Nick's behavior too. The younger man had seemed to take
saving the girl on as a personal crusade and Derek knew
how dangerous that clouding of emotions could be. Alex
had told him how she had found him in the control room,
staring up at Tangye's image. She had described his
attitude but mostly concentrated on that lost look she
had seen in his eyes. She had seemed confused though, not
sure if it was really lost, or it he had just found
something. Compounded with the argument they had just had
he started to rethink allowing Nick to proceed. Nick
turned and nodded to Derek, his eyes hardened, as he
stepped up to the porch, Derek knew he wouldn't have been
able to stop him if he tried.

"I'll go in first." Nick said, his voice low
and confident.

*****

'I'll ask you one more time, please don't do this.'
She turned her eyes to the man's image.

"Don't argue." He replied without thought,
his eyes focusing only on the door.

'I won't let you do this.' She warned but he didn't
seem to care that she was even speaking.

"Really?" His voice had a steel-trap edge to
it that froze her, making her wonder if she would be able
to go through with it. He turned to her again, his face
alive with delight. She gritted her teeth seeing it
there. A momentary swell of anger grew in her. "I
think I told you to go upstairs."

'You don't have the time to make me.' This time it was
she, who nearly laughed at him, things were progressing
too quickly for him to punish her, as he wanted to. She
heard their footsteps on the porch.

*****

Nick stopped a few feet from the door, glancing one
last time at Derek who again just nodded at him. He took
a deep breath and kicked the door in with one swift
movement. He didn't even have a chance to think how odd
it was that it was this easy to get in before his
instinct pushed him into the house with Derek only a few
feet behind him. Suddenly time seemed to stop for the man
though.

She sat on the steps in front of the door, her eyes
jerking up to his face immediately. He saw the large
bruise on the side of her face, the dried blood around
her ear. He couldn't remember ever seeing a fear like
that on anyone's face before. She didn't move towards
him, didn't say anything but she was terrified and it was
obvious, it seemed to seep out of her every pore. But it
wasn't fear for herself, he was sure of that somehow.
There was a warning on her lips that she couldn't voice.
In that instant he noticed everything about her, how
small she looked, how beautiful she still was despite her
pale skin. But mostly he saw the eyes that locked with
his own.

He realized he had been right not to just write them
off as blue, they were the most stunning eyes he had ever
seen. A deep sky blue, not on a particularly cloudy day,
or the type that looked like ice, they were the color of
the clearest sky he could remember. Around her wide
pupils though there was a ring of gold, not flecks, not
something that made them look hazel, but a distinct
circle of gold. It brought to mind immediately the look
the sun fighting to be seen from behind a lunar eclipse,
glowing around the edges. They dug into his heart the
moment they found his face and he knew he couldn't
imagine not seeing them look at him again.

As suddenly as it had slowed, time sped back up again.
Derek was thrown back, the door slammed shut but rather
then running to check it he ran to her. Moving forward
without conscious thought. Whatever had been haunting her
was obviously in the room with them right now. Derek
could take care of himself; the girl obviously had
already lost one too many battles just by the bruises on
her face.

He grabbed her hand and pulled her up the stairs
behind him, wanting to put some space in between them and
the apparition he couldn't see. He just didn't know what
else to do or where else to go as his own desperation
expelled logic.

He didn't hear the voice calling to the girl.
"One at a time, he'll come back for his friend,
we'll make sure he enjoys what he finds." She closed
her eyes trying to fight him off, allowing the young man
to lead her.

*****

"Alex we have a problem." Derek couldn't
keep from yelling into the cell phone at his ear.
"Nick's in the house, whatever's in there threw me
out though, I can't get back in."

"Are you okay?" Her tone was anxious.

"I'm fine, but I have to get in there. Nick can't
perform an exorcism. I saw the girl, she's hurt, tell
Rachel to be prepared to administer medical treatment.
I'll call you when I've got them out." He turned the
phone off and slipped it into his pocket, fighting the
urge to smash it. What had he gotten them into? He had
only gotten to see her for an instant but he still had a
clear feeling of her in his mind. She was determined for
this all to end but he wasn't sure that she believed in
her own power to end it. Then the door had slammed on
him. An invisible force having tossed him off the porch
into the soft grass of the yard.

He cursed himself for the distraction he'd spent the
past two days in. Had he overlooked something? Charles
said he should know what she needed but he still had no
clue. Now whatever was in the house had Nick. Again he
felt the urge to destroy something swell in him over his
helplessness but he strove to bury it. He had to focus;
he had to get his friend, his son, out.

*****

Nick kicked the door shut behind them knowing it would
do nothing to stop whatever was in the house but it at
least made him feel better. He couldn't possibly
understand that she was managing to keep them out of the
room. She fought them back with all of her mind, she had
to keep them away long enough to figure out a way to get
the man out. To make it clear to him he had to leave and
not come back. That he couldn't do anything to save her.
Just yesterday she had found hope and now it had been
completely vanquished. She had been wrong to think these
men could aid her. To allow them to enter her life. She
would only fail them as she had done before. But how
could she communicate anything to him and keep the hazes
at bay?

"Christ " Nick was at a loss. He had
been in the Legacy long enough that the power of the
spirit didn't really surprise him but his own actions
had. What in the hell had he been thinking running
upstairs? He had successfully cut himself off from any
escape. Rather then focus on his self-loathing at his
lack of quick thinking he concentrated on the woman with
him. She was the important thing now. Maybe she had a
clue about what they could do from here.

He looked around the room and realized immediately
they had found their way to her room. Maybe that would
help her gain strength. Dark wood furniture lined the
walls and there was a computer in the corner, useless
though for the destroyed monitor. The bed was made neatly
which he thought odd but shook off that thought realizing
how unimportant the detail was. He suddenly felt her hand
in his own again and just gave it a squeeze of
reassurance, though he didn't feel so sure at the time.

He lead her over to the bed against the wall and sat
her down, studying her face looking for some sign that
she saw him. Again the beauty of her eyes struck him,
they spoke to something in his heart despite the fact
they were no longer looking at him. Instead they were
lost in a blank stare. Still just looking at them made it
hard for him to breath, he tried desperately to focus on
the situation but couldn't look away from her face.

It spoke volumes of the pain she had endured and Nick
found himself desperate to do something to help her, to
find a way to save her. He remembered his first glimpse
of her in the prom photo and how that face had danced in
the back of his mind ever since that moment. He had never
felt such an immediate attachment to someone before, he
was completely captivated by her and knew it would be
useless to try and fight it. He had been right in his
words to Alex the night before last, this was like a face
from his dreams, one he had spent an eternity looking at.
Even if he had never known her face before he was sure
that to him it would prove to be something that couldn't
be ignored.

He reached out and touched her hair; it felt like silk
under his fingers. He stroked her head in a weak attempt
at comfort and found a large bump on the back of her head
that made them both wince. "Sorry Tangye." She
swallowed hard trying to keep her thoughts focused on
fighting them off and ignore the pain he inadvertently
caused her by touching the sensitive wound.

He grinned slightly, trying to comfort her in another
way. She was surprised when she found herself noticing
how handsome this would be savior was. His hazel eyes
were full of concern but behind them she sensed a pain he
didn't speak of. His face was thin with distinct lines,
his jaw strong and covered in morning fuzz. In his
expression she read the intensity he lived his life with.
His mouth was serious but soothing. He had high
cheekbones, dark hair that he seemed to be allowing to
grow out. She somehow knew this was a man who had faced
the worst in the world and had survived, never being
beaten and she admired the sense of that trait in him.
There was a kindness to his face she couldn't ignore and
she knew that if she had seen him anywhere in the world
he would have drawn her in without even knowing it.

Suddenly she averted her eyes from his intense gaze
that studied her. He was trying to commit it all to
memory but knew in his heart that was already done from
the moment that he had first seen her. "Okay, I
think I need a little help here. I don't think I can do
this without your help." He traced the backs of his
fingers down her cheek trying to draw her attention away
from whatever had her looking so lost and she found she
couldn't help but look back up at him, if only to take
comfort in his face. She couldn't speak though, she
wanted to so badly but nothing would come out.

She could feel him in her mind, fighting to get to
them through the defenses she erected. She heard his
steely voice. "Tangye Mauveen stop this, he must be
an example."

'Leave me alone, please..' Her cry was sent to them
both weakly.

"I will not stupid child. Listen to me, I'll kill
him no matter what but you can't imagine what you're
bringing on to yourself right now." She could
though, all to well. She had been in the same position
before, fighting to protect an innocent and that time she
had lost. She didn't want to face losing again. She knew
what would be done to her but couldn't let him in to
them. He would never kill her; she knew that without
doubt. Instead he would deliver more pain to her then man
had words for, already had really. He would make her
suffer but never offer her release from the pain, never
would the gentle grip of death be allowed, not if he was
in control anyway.

She gripped the young man's hand tightly but he didn't
seem to notice the pain, his eyes locked on hers as he
tried to find a way to help.

*****

"Philip?" Father Philip Callaghan stood at
his desk in the chapel office; he had just walked in the
room from the morning service. He had heard the incessant
ringing of the phone all the way down the hall but hadn't
realized it was his until he got to his door. Having
quickly grabbed it his first reaction was slight
irritation to see the number on the caller id box they
had installed after a serious of threatening calls from
an anti-Semantic group had been received. Though the
members of the Legacy were still his friends they usually
called asking for his help, despite his assertion that he
left the group. He had enough to do on his own and didn't
need the feeling of obligation to help them compounded
with that. That annoyance fell away quickly though
hearing Alex blurt out his name with such relief.

"Alex, what is it?" He recognized the stress
in her voice even over the phone lines and felt his heart
instinctively skip a beat.

"There's a problem. We were investigating this
house, there was a young woman holed up in it for the
past seven years, five of which she had no contact with
the outside world at all. We have no idea of what's
keeping her there. All we know is that they're violent
evidently and " The words came in a torrent he
could hardly understand, if he had any hope of figuring
out what was going on he had to calm her down.

"Alex, focus, tell me what's happened?"
Philip demanded. She was distracted, rambling but he was
now sure that she had called for more then just his
opinion on another case. Alex just didn't get this upset
without a very good reason behind it. Still there was a
case involved. He almost sighed at that thought but
withheld his exhaustion over the situation. It had been
years since he had left the Legacy yet they would never
let him go. In a way he was gratified by their faith in
him, in another way it drove him crazy, why did they
refuse to hear him?

"Derek and Nick decided to enter the house, I
tried to stop them but this was like a personal crusade
for them, I don't know why. But only Nick made it in, now
Derek can't get him or the girl out. The spirits are
keeping them in there and Derek out." Philip didn't
have words to express the fear that swept over him upon
hearing those words. He knew the tone in the woman's
voice, the fear he was hearing was for Nick's life, and
knowing that he understood how desperate the situation
was.

"Give me the address." She recited it off
for him and he jumped up not allowing himself time to
think about what he was doing. He grabbed the small bag
from the closet, the one he always had handy in his own
testament that he had never really left the Legacy. He
dashed out of the small parish office, making sure to
grab the keys to the van off the wall as he ran by them.
It wasn't until he made it to the van and was fumbling
with the keys that the full weight of the situation hit
him.

Nick. His little brother in most ways except for
blood. Forever headstrong, too sure of himself, full of
anger and more unspoken pain. He and Nick had fought on
countless occasions but at the heart of all those
arguments had been one simple fact, Nick never wanted
Philip to leave him alone. Nick had said so many hurtful
things over the years, trying to anger the slightly older
priest but never really succeeding. Instead Philip met
his every effort with calm understanding. Philip knew why
Nick tried to hurt him. He felt if he could make sure
their relationship was completely destroyed then it
wouldn't hurt so much when Philip decided that he needed
to return to his life in the parish. Then Philip wouldn't
have just been ignoring the pain his leaving caused; he
would have good cause to leave. But the priest had never
given in, maybe he should have, he thought. Maybe it
would have made one element of Nick's hard life easier.
It had been so long since their relationship had been
right, lingering instead in an in between state. Still
Philip could not imagine life without Nick; he was too
much a perfect balance for him. Constantly forcing the
young Irishman to see the other side.

He thought back to the times when they were younger,
when he had lived still on Angel Island and they would
stay up late into the night talking over Guinness. He
thought about those times when Nick had admitted to him
things he probably never meant to, and probably didn't
remember confessing. The way his voice would grow tight,
a mixture of his anger and pain, indicating his
disappointment over so many things in his life. The way
his eyes would look at Philip to make it all better. To
have him prove in some way that the pain that surrounded
his life was not his fault. That look of a little boy
wanting, needing, his big brother to fix things.
Unfortunately Philip had never been able to do that. Then
he had let Nick down by leaving the Legacy. By saying in
the younger man's mind that he was also abandoning him.
Philip hated himself when he thought he had just added to
Nick's quiet anguish rather then help him with all that
already existed and too often manifested itself in
violent outbursts rather then tears.

"God Nick, what have you gotten yourself into
this time?" Philip swallowed back his own tears that
threatened to come too easily. "Please watch over my
little brother Lord, please."

*****

Nick was having no luck getting her to focus on him.
His hand held within her vice like grip seemed oddly far
away. He watched as her eyes danced nervously. He sensed
that something more was going on in her mind then he was
privilege to and the weight of his helplessness sat heavy
on his chest. All he could do was wait for her to offer
him something.

"Tangye he's right this must be done." The
woman's voice, more logical but still angry. Tangye
cursed the woman in her heart, knowing it was she that
had somehow managed to rob her of the power of the anger
she had the night before.

"Tangye let us in, do you hear me?" She gave
no response. It took all of her focus just to keep them
on the other side of the door. The pain was incredible
but she had no other option if she wanted to save the
man. She closed her eyes tightly willing herself not to
have to hear them screaming in her mind. It failed
miserably. His voice was louder then any sound she could
recall. "Stop whatever you're doing and let us do
what must be done. Listen to me Tangye, this is your
father speaking."

*****

"Kat sweetheart are you alright?" Rachel
looked over at her daughter in the seat beside her. She
had been oddly quiet all morning and seemed deep in
thought.

"Why do people hurt people they love?" Kat
turned her blue eyes on her mother. Rachel was surprised
by the question and concerned by what could have brought
it on.

"Kat honey, is there something you need to tell
me about? Something going on at school?" Rachel
asked gently but got only a shake of Kat's head in
response. "No one at school is being hurt? Then who
Katherine. Why would ask me that?"

"I don't know who she is. I had a dream about a
girl and she was in a lot of pain. But the people hurting
her were supposed to love her. She said that. Why would
they do that?" Kat's voice was low; knowing how
uncomfortable her mother got sometimes when she talked
about these things. Maybe it would have been better if
she had waited to see Alex, she would have understood.

"Kat, I'm sure it was just a nightmare." She
wanted to dismiss it as just that but didn't know if that
was the right thing to do. Derek had explained the Sight
to her countless times and she felt she understood what
her daughter was going through. Still she wasn't ever
sure what was just a child's imagination or the gift that
Kat held.

"But why mom? People do it, why?" Kat
continued on with her question ignoring the dismissal. It
seemed so important to her that she have an answer,
Rachel bean to worry.

"Well, there's a lot of reasons. Usually they
don't even think about it though. They loose their
tempers and bad things just happen." Rachel wasn't
sure how to explain something so complex without scaring
her daughter.

"Are spirits angrier then most people?" Now
Rachel was certain that Kat had seen something. Even
though she had been involved with many spirits and demons
her child rarely dreamed about them without cause.

"I think they just get more confused sometimes so
their emotions come out ways they don't mean for them to.
Kat what else did you see?" Her child shrugged.
"You can tell me honey, I'll believe anything you
say." Kat seemed pleased with that reassurance.

"Well there was a girl, she was about my age. She
said that they were hurting her, asked me why they would
do that when they promised to love her. Then there was a
man, he was older then Derek with white hair. He said
that she had to do something. I don't know what. Then
there were these two shadows and they started to get near
here and the man he stood in between them, the girl and
the shadows. He was pushed away though, he couldn't
protect her. Then the girl asked them to love her. I woke
up then." Kat finished, scrunching up her face to
try and recall any more helpful information but finally
just shaking her head. She could recall nothing else and
didn't know what any of it meant.

Rachel was shocked by the details that her daughter
remembered. She prayed this was not some sort of portent
of a new disaster lurking around the corner for the
Legacy.

*****

She seemed to flinch at something Nick couldn't see or
hear but he found her in his arms, he looked around
desperately trying to find something to fight for her
salvation.

She had refused to think of him that way in years,
even if she had always known that was just who he was.
She had banished that name from her mind, destroyed all
of the happy memories in an effort to remain sane in the
face of her nightmare. She wouldn't allow that creature
to exist with the name of her father, nor the other as
her mother. They had died and what came in their place
was straight from hell. But it had always been her
parent's forms torturing her; it had been their voices
berating her for seven long years. Denial of their
identity did no good anymore once he spoke the name she
had evaded for so long. When he said the single word, a
title that once meant so much to her  love, pride,
safety, it was enough of a reminder to bring the truth
crashing down on her.

The tears came unbidden, soaking into the man's shirt,
any last bit of resolve she had slipping away so quickly.

*****

Derek tried various windows but couldn't get them to
work or break and the doors weren't giving an inch
either. He hadn't heard anything from the house in at
least fifteen minutes but he still couldn't control his
fear of what was happening to Nick or Tangye Gaarlihn
behind the old walls. He looked around anxiously and for
the first time saw the form in the window next door.

His body was compelled into motion. His frustration
needing an outlet and seeing one finally. Ever since he
had first heard her story he had been aggravated that she
had stood by in silence for so long. She claimed to love
the young woman trapped in the house but had given up on
her when doctors decided that she was just caught in her
grief. She had allowed herself to believe the simple
answer despite her own instincts that seemed to suggest
she knew there was more going on. She had done nothing in
seven years; in fact she never really had done anything
by her own will.

He remembered Charles' words from his dreams and the
implication of them. Janet Albertson had said she didn't
know why she had written the letter to the Legacy. She
claimed she felt something made her do it and Derek knew
now that was true. Charles Gaarlihn had made her write
the letter as his only way to bring help to his
descendant. She may never have done anything if not for
an outside entity forcing her hand.

He made it to the house in a dead run and began
pounding violently on the door, refusing to be ignored.
Mrs. Albertson pulled it open only moments after he got
there. Her face was stricken but he ignored it. She
didn't deserve his pity right now in his irrational mind.
The spirits in there had successfully held Tangye for
seven years, what certainty did he have that they
couldn't do the same for seven more years? And now they
had Nick as a second prize.

"You saw? Whatever is in there has them both now
and for years you've stood by and watched this build in
silence, how could you?" He wasn't really surprised
by his anger or the accusation but could tell the woman
was. But he felt out of control. He had only glimpsed the
young face of the girl on the stairs but had seen clearly
enough the bruise and the blood. It had struck him
instantly the pain on her face, he wanted to do something
to ease it and his normal cool demeanor was lost in the
face of her agony. Not only that but now whatever it was
had Nick as well. The man that was as close to being
Derek's son as anyone else in the world, the younger of
the two that Derek had always felt like a father to.

"Dr. Rayne, I " She struggled for
something to say to him.

"Don't, now you have to help me." He pushed
her back into the house, still unsure what he was going
to do but unable to not act.